Resilient tire.



F. G. KOEHLER.

RESILIENT TIRE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7. 1913.

Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

'3 SHEETS-SHEET I. v

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Abbesb mvanbor: F. G. mama? THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 50-. WAsHlNGTON, D.c.

..KOHER.

Patented Mar. 28,1916.

3 SHEETS SHEET 2.

F. G. KOEHLER.

RESILIENT TIRE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7. 19:3.

Patented Mar. 28, 1916.-

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

FRANK G. KOEI-ILER, or sr. Louis, MISSOURI.

RESILIENT TIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

Application filed April 7, 1913. Serial No. 759,420.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK G. KonHLnn, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Resilient Tires, ofwhich the following is a full, clear,and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification. I p 7 My invention relates to a resilient tire for use onvehicle wheels, involving a casing, bow springs arranged in circularseries within said casing, and means whereby the bow springs areexpanded and distended toward the inner wall of the tread of the casing.

Figure I is a side elevation of a vehicle wheel with my resilient tirethereon, the tire being shown partly broken away and partly in section.Fig. II is an enlarged cross section through the inner portion of thetire and the rim on which the tire is mounted. Fig. III is an enlargedcross section through my tire, the rim and felly of the wheel on whichit is mounted, and one of the spring expanding devices. Fig. IV is aside elevation of a plurality of the bow springs of my tire and one ofthe spreader rings, one of the outer bow springs being partly broken outto alford a view of portions of the inner bow springs. Fig. V is aperspeo-.

tive view of a fragment of one of the spreader rings, the view showlngone of the seat portions engaged by the expanding devices. Fig. VI is anenlarged view illustrating the spreader rings in side elevation, andportions of the bow springs at the far side of the spreader rings, theView being taken at onset the joints of the spreader rings. Fig. VII isan enlarged view of the spreader rings and the end portions of the bowsprings fitted to said" spreader rings, taken looking toward the.inner'circle of the tire. Fig. VIII is aperspective view of one of thespreader ring sections, the central portion of the section being brokenout.

' In the accompanying drawings: Adesignates the felly of a vehicle wheelsurrounded by a rim B, preferably ofthe demountable type. As noinvention is herein claimed for the felly or rim to which my tire isapplied,

and they are of a well known type, it is deemed unnecessary to givefurther description of these parts.- r 1- designates the casing of myresilient tire secured to the rim B, which is preferably of the sameconstruction as that common to pneumatic tires comprising an outer'lation,to wit: a. series of outer bow springs 2, and a series of innerbow springs 3, the mner springs being arranged within the outer springsm such manner as to break joints between the latter, and being smallerthan and, in order that the outer springs may be expanded to the innerwall of the tire casing, while the inner springs, also expanded, remainnormally spaced from the outer springs. By this arrangement, the outersprings, being of larger dimensions,

are more resilient, are presented to the tire caslng in a manner to befirst acted upon and yield when the tread of the tire is subjected to alimited degree of pressure or load, and if the pressure or load is suchas not to be fully taken care of by the outer bow springs, the outersprings are brought into contact with the inner springs, which thenbecome active to yieldingly resist the pressure or load.

One of the important features of my present invention is a provision ofefficient means whereby the bow springs of my tire are expanded towardthe tread of the tire to present them in proper relation to the tirecasing and render them operative to the greatest degree of efficiency.The means for expanding the bow springs of my resilient tire comprises apair of spreader rings 4, preferably sectional, which are positioned atthe inner circle of the tire and are adjustable laterally relative toeach other. These spreader rings have grooves 5, extending inwardly fromtheir sides, into which the ends ofthebow spring 2 and 3 enter, thegrooves being of suflicient width to accommodate the overlappingsprings; or, in other words, being of a width corresponding at least tothe combined thickness of one of the outer bow springs 2 and one of theinner bow springs 3, so that each groove may be occupied by end portionsof both the inner and outer bow springs when arranged in overlappingrelation. In the grooves 5 are studs or distance pieces 6, (see Figs.II, III, VI and VIII), which serve to separate and properly position theouter bow springs 2, and in the same grooves are studs or distancepieces 7, that serve to separate and properly position the inner bowsprings 3, the members 6 and 7 acting also to hold the springs fromshifting after they are applied to the spreader rings.

In order that the spreader rings 4 may be properly positioned relativeto each other previous to the application of the bow springs 2 and 3thereto, I provide one of the ringswith dowels 6, which enter intocavities 7 in the other and companion spreader ring, (see Fig. II).

To provide for the expansion of the bow springs 2 and 3 in accordancewith my improvement, it is necessary to force the spreader rings 4laterally and outwardly from each other, and this I accomplish byspreading devices about to be described,

which are operable between the spreader rings. To permit the operationof the spreading device, the rings are provided at their inner andopposing walls with inclined cam faces 8, which converge toward theperipheries of the spreader rings, as seen most clearly in Fig. III, andprovide V- shaped pockets. 7

The devices for forcing the spreader rings apart to expand the bowsprings 2 and 3 comprise the following elements: 9 are bushings locatedin the felly A of the vehicle wheel, each bushing being provided withan'internal screw thread 10, (see Fig. III). 11 are spreader screwsoperable in the bushings 9, in engagement with the screw threads 10,each screw being provided at its inner end with a conical point 12,which enters between the opposing inclined cam faces 8, when the screwis turned to move it outwardly from the position in which it is seen inFig. III. At the inner end of each screw 11 is a head 13, to which awrench, or other suitable implement, may be applied for the operation ofthe screw. The exposed portions of the spreader screws 11 extendingbeyond the fellies of the wheel are preferably normally incased by screwcaps 14, fitted to said screws. It will be seen that the tire receivingrim B is perforated at the locations of the bushings 9 and the spreaderscrews operable therein, so that the points of the spreader screws maybe adjusted through the rim to force the spreader rings 4 outwardlyrelative to each other in expanding the bow springs. will also beunderstood that the spreader screws are located as frequently as may bemost desirable, in order that the spreading action performed thereby maybe accomplished most satisfactorily, and also in order that the spreaderscrews may be close enough together to furnish adequate backing membersfor the spreader rings when the latter are spaced apart.

with the exception of a joint between the ends of two of the sections,previous to placing the tire casing to the bow springs and the spreaderrings. It should be here stated that a gap in the series of howspringsis left at the location, of the joint between the ring sectionstobe last connected, and this gap is finally filled by bow springs similarto the other bow springs after the casing is fitted over the springs.and spreader rings.

To facilitate the application of the bow springs last referred to, suchsprings are provided with perforations m located near their ends andinto which a suitable spreading implement may be introduced. sections,seen in F igs. VI and VII, are introduced into the tire casing beforethe joint at the ends of the spreader. ring sections last to beconnected ismade, and said sections are finally seated in the groovesinthe These spreader rings by spreading their ends, as 7 described, andmoving them inwardly through'cutouts in the outer flanges of thespreader rings seen in Fig. VII. These springs are then readily adjustedin the grooves in the spreader rings. 7 I claim:

1. A resilient tire comprising, in combina- Y tion with a wheel rim, acasing having edges fitted to said rim, bow springs within said casinghaving their terminal portions ,extended transversely of andsubstantially parallel with the'periphery' of the. wheel rim, a pair ofseparable spreader rings in which the ends of said bow springs arefitted, and means for moving said spreader rings laterally relative toeach other to expand said bow springs toward said casing.

2. A resilient tire comprising, in combination with a wheel rim, acasing having edges fitted to said rim, bow springs within said casinghaving their terminal portions extended transversely of andsubstantially parallel with the periphery of the wheel rim, a pair ofspreader rings separable from each other-transversely of the tire andhaving grooves in their outer side facesin which the ends of said bowsprings are fitted, and means for moving said spreader rings laterallyrelative to each other to expand said bow springs toward said casing.

3. A resilient tire, comprising, in combination with a wheel rim,acasing having said casing having their terminal portions extendedtransversely of and substantially parallel with the periphery of thewheel rim, a pair of spreader rings separable from each othertransversely of the tire and having continuous grooves in their outerfaces in which the ends of said bow springs are adjustably fitted, andmeans for moving said spreader rings laterally relative to each other toexpand said bow springs toward said casing.

4. A resilient tire comprising a casing, bow springs within said casing,spreader rings provided with grooves in which the ends of said howsprings are seated, the said spreader rings being provided with distancepieces located in their grooves between which said bow springs seat, andmeans for moving'one of said spreader rings laterally relative to theother to expand said how springs.

' FRANK G. KOEHLER.

In the presence of E. LINN, M. FALVEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

